2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Kel’el Ware

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The Miami Heat have a big offseason ahead, but let’s still review what happened this season! To continue with our Miami Heat player review series, we dive into sophomore big man Kel’el Ware!

Past Player Reviews:

Brief Overview:

2025-26 stats (77 games):

11.1 PPG

9.0 RPG

1.1 BLKS

0.8 STLS

53.0 FG%

39.5 3P%

74.0 FT%

It was an up and down season for Ware. Not necessarily because of his play, but more so with his role and opportunities. Coach Erik Spoelstra shuffled a lot of roles due to injuries to core guys like Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. And it seemed like Ware was unfortunately always the odd man out with those lineup changes. Sure there were some nights where Ware’s motor looked questionable, although he needs to be allowed to work through his mistakes.

I’ve consistently stated throughout the year that Ware is the biggest ceiling raiser on the team. Miami looked like a much better team with him engaged on both ends. It’s fair to expect off nights for someone in just his second season, but it’s a learning curve that Spoelstra needs to be more understanding with.

Numbers to note:

39.5 — 3-point percentage

The facet of the game that has even made a Ware and Bam Adebayo big man combination work even a little bit has been Ware’s ability to stretch the floor. That notion was significantly stronger this season than Ware’s rookie year— as the 7-footer saw his 3-point efficiency jump from 31.5% to 39.5%.

Ware’s shooting ability makes him a perfect big in today’s NBA. In a league where more and more bigs are shooting three’s, it is encouraging to see the 22-year-old let it fly efficiently. And the sample size is big enough to know that it’s not a fluke either, as he attempted three attempts per game. His confidence in that facet of his game will only make him more valuable for Miami.

77 — Total games played

For someone with a slender 7-foot frame, Ware did a tremendous job at staying available all season long. He appeared in 77 total games and started in 34 of them, and could be argued that he should have started in a lot more. But that’s an argument for another day.

The encouraging thing here is that Ware has been reliable and consistent with his games played.

22.1 — Minutes per game

This is the one number that never made sense to me. Even if the way the rotations worked out with Ware having to play a bench role, why couldn’t he be staggered to still get extended minutes with Adebayo in those games? Ware’s per 36 minutes stats this season are roughly 18 points, 14.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Those are All-Star numbers.

The fact that a player with this much talent and upside was held back to just 22 minutes per game doesn’t sit right with me. He may still be young, but Ware has shown time and time again throughout this past season that he is ready. It’s worth monitoring moving forward to see if Spoelstra lets get of the leash on Ware’s playing time and role.

Best Game?

Ware had several dominating stat lines this season, especially towards the beginning of the year when he was a regular starter. But his best outing came in a Heat win versus the Washington Wizards this past April, where the talented big totaled a monstrous 24 points and 19 rebounds double-double to also go along with seven (!) blocks.

This performance was yet another glimpse of what Ware can be for this team long term: a versatile two-way anchor that impacts the game on both ends. His talent is undeniable, and if he could continue stacking games together like that moving forward, it will be hard for Spoelstra to keep him off the floor.

What’s next?

Miami will have the privilege to continue working with Ware and his growth until at least 2028. He signed a four-year $22.5 million rookie scale contract in the summer of 2024, keeping him under contract through the 2027-28 campaign. The final two years include a team option, though it seems unlikely the Heat would ever move from someone with that much potential on such a cheap salary figure.

If not extended before that final year, Ware would become a restricted free agent in 2028. But for now, his future could still be iffy as a member of the Heat depending on utilizing him as a trade piece in any superstar trade this summer— mostly for Giannis Antetokounmpo. In my opinion, there are very, very few stars that Miami should even entertain the idea of moving from Ware this early. He is a player with a clear All-Star caliber ceiling with the best yet to come.

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